EU bank assets rise 5.18% to €34.99 trillion

Sole source: Total assets at credit institutions headquartered in the European Union rose 5.18% from a year earlier to €34.99 trillion at the end of June 2026, up from €33.27 trillion in June 2025, the European Central Bank (ECB) said in data published on 6 November.

The ECB said the aggregate non-performing-loan ratio rose 0.03 percentage points over the year to 1.99%. A non-performing loan is one with late repayments or one unlikely to be repaid in full. The ECB says the ratio divides such loans by total loans and also includes cash balances at central banks and other demand deposits.

Capital and profitability

The ECB said the aggregate Common Equity Tier 1 ratio, a measure of capital relative to risk exposure, was 16.43%. The ECB calculates it by dividing Common Equity Tier 1 capital by the total risk exposure amount.

The ECB said aggregate return on equity, a measure of profitability, was 5.31%. The ECB calculated it by dividing total profit or loss for the first six months of 2026 by total equity; the result is not annualized.

What the data cover

The ECB compiles the data on a group-consolidated basis, combining the accounts of banking groups. The ECB says the dataset covers 336 banking groups and 2283 stand-alone credit institutions and non-EU-controlled subsidiaries and branches operating in the EU. Together, they account for nearly 100% of the EU banking sector’s balance sheet.

The ECB says reporting institutions generally use International Financial Reporting Standards and the European Banking Authority’s supervisory reporting standards. The ECB said some small and medium-sized reporters may instead use national accounting standards, so the aggregates can include data based on those standards, depending on the underlying items available.